Every year, July 4th is a reminder of what has made this country truly great – the fight for independence that gives everyone their freedom and opportunity to pursue the life they want on their terms. This year, the July 4th holiday comes at an incredibly transformative time in the Country’s workforce, where we are seeing technology fundamentally change how people work, collaborate and earn a living. It is a time where the American worker is beginning to have the freedom to work on their terms and experience the benefits of flexible opportunities in their jobs.

People of all ages and without gender distinction are demanding flex work arrangements and numerous studies have identified the benefits of telecommuting and remote work, for both the employee and employer. With technology today – which makes managing remote workers as easy as managing them in the office – those benefits are even more significant.

For every worker, it goes far beyond a better work/life balance. There are true health benefits for remote workers from reduced stress, less commuting to the basic fact that having flexible work schedule – based on your terms – gives you more time to take care of yourself and those you love.

Because of this, it should come as no surprise that time after time surveys have found remote workers and telecommuters are more productive. Global Workplace Analytics Costs & Benefits survey found that teleworkers at a number of Fortune 500 companies are 35-40% more productive than employees in their office and more than two-thirds of employers saw increased productivity from their telecommuters.

The growth of the gig economy is another trend that points to the desire of Americans to work on their own terms. In the 10 years from 2005 to 2015 the US worker in the gig economy rose more than 50% from 10.1 to 15.8 percent, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research 2016 working paper. There is no doubt it has risen even more since then and will continue to rise.

Benefits for employers are significant as well – lower cost per worker, access to a larger talent pool, improves employee satisfaction, greater retention and most importantly, promoting diversity and inclusion.

With technology driving the management process through remote workforce platforms such as TransparentBusiness, the ability to manage anyone, anywhere is not only simple – it is incredibly efficient and effective. This is the idea behind our management platform – enabling companies to provide their workers the flexibility they want while giving them the tools and resources to hold them accountable, communicate effectively to optimize engagement and offer real-time access to their work to ensure they are on the right path (which prevents mistakes and their cost).

With all these benefits, this July 4th, as we celebrate our country’s independence, we should celebrate independence for the US worker, which will only make them happier, increase their productive and become more committed to their jobs. And that is quite a good birthday present for this great country of ours.